Music of the Peoples of the World
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Book Description
This text takes a survey (appreciation style) approach to world music covering 9 music cultures. It focuses on how to listen to and appreciate the music of different cultures and will appeal particularly to students who are non-music majors. The text discusses enough geography and history for the student to connect the music to its social context, while keeping the focus on listening. The text focuses on listening through 1) spotlights on non-Western instruments, and 2) 16 listening guides that track the audio step-by-step, pointing the listener to important characteristics. Many full-color photos and graphics of instruments, musicians, and cultural events help students to understand the context of music in countries with which they may be unfamiliar. The listening guides, an available music CD set (with full selections that help the student hear significant differences among the music cultures), and Active Listening Tools (allowing students to view instruments and cultural settings while they listen to musical excerpts) further enhance listening and understanding.
About the Author
William Alves is a teacher, composer, researcher of non-Western music, performer, Associate Professor of Music at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont California, and a member of the Society for Ethnomusicology.
Dr. Alves has been an active performer of non-Western music for the past ten years, mostly in various Javanese and Balinese gamelan orchestras (at UCLA, CalArts, and Pomona College) but also West African drumming (at UCLA and Pomona College). In 1993-94, he was a Fulbright Senior Scholar in Indonesia, where he also participated in these ensembles, conducted research, and taught.
Dr. Alves has written many pieces for gamelan, often combining it with Western instruments. He has also written for shakuhachi (the Japanese bamboo flute) and works for Western instruments using traditional African idioms. His works are recorded on the EMF and ICMC labels, among others, and his video works are syndicated by Offline and CinemaNow.com. His experience with cross-cultural influences allow him to show students how these sometimes inaccessible cultures can be connected to familiar experiences, often in beautiful and unexpected ways.
William Alves has been teaching at the university level for 16 years. Though most of his teaching has been at private colleges (USC, Scripps, Harvey Mudd, Claremont Graduate University), he has also given guest lectures at community colleges, arts conservatories, and public colleges. He taught in Java, Indonesia during his Fulbright fellowship.
His writings on music have appeared in THE CSOUND BOOK (MIT Press), PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC, INTERCULTURAL MUSIC, MUSIC LIBRARY ASSOCIATION NOTES, 1/1: JOUR­NAL OF THE JUST INTONATION NETWORK, and SOCIETY OF ELECTRO-ACOUSTIC MUSIC IN THE UNITED STATES JOURNAL. In 2001 Dr. Alves organized and hosted the first conference and festival of microtonal music in Claremont with special guest Lou Harrison. Dr. Alves is currently co-authoring a biography of Harrison.
Music of the Peoples of the World,William Alves,Wadsworth Publishing,0534592309,General,History & Criticism - General,History and criticism,Music,World music,Music / General
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